Page 15 of The Merciless Don's Bride

His gaze turns triumphant. He casts a short glance at the big man holding Maxine and he lets her go. My guards haven’t relented however. I look at my uncle, arching an eyebrow. He sighs before calling them off as well.

“Great, now that we’re all friends again,” Luciano says dryly. “Cassandra, they’re expecting us at home.”

Maxine shakes her head at me, “You aren’t seriously going to go with him, Cassie. This is insane!”

“It’ll be fine,” I assure her, sounding much braver than I feel.

“No, I hate it when you say that. It’ll most definitely not be fine. The man is a mobster.”

Those words have a jarring effect. And I finally remember how and where I know him from. Not that I’ve ever met him before but I’ve heard of him. The man standing across from me, with his three piece dark suit, dark hair and icy blue eyes. His name is Damien Luciano. The king of the Underworld.

And apparently a sort of deal has been made over my head. A deal signing me over to the devil.

CHAPTER FIVE

DAMIEN

She’s quiet. Not that I blame her. I’m sure the sequence of the day’s event has left her drained and confused. Truth be told, I could have chosen a better time to do all this, expose her fate. But my sources informed me that Miguel Solis was making a move to get her out of the country as soon as the funeral ended. He was trying to keep her away from me. And that’s unacceptable.

Plus, I’m tired of waiting. I’ve waited long enough.

Cassie sits as far from me as the car allows, her body pressed against the door like she’s hoping it’ll swallow her whole and spit her out somewhere safe. It’s cute. Useless, but cute.

I watch her out of the corner of my eye, the way her fingers twitch in her ap, the way her jaw clenches like she’s trying not to speak, or scream. She’s angry. Afraid. Which is good. Fear sharpens the mind. It’ll make what comes after easier. For me, anyway.

The car hums steadily down the road, the city lights bleeding into the dark windows. Inside, it’s quiet, tense. I can practically taste her discomfort.

“You’re going to hurt your neck sitting like that,” I say casually, my voice cutting through the silence.

She flinches, whipping her head toward me. Wide, furious hazel eyes meet mine. Her eyes are entirely too alluring. Probably her best feature if the rest of her wasn’t just as enticing. She’s a siren, meant to lure men to their doom. I’ll gladly save them from that by cutting out the eyes of any man that dares to look at her.

“I’m fine,” she snaps, her voice sharp.

I smirk, letting he see the edge underneath it, “You will be.”

She scowls, hugging her arms around herself like armor.

“Where are you taking me?” she demands.

“Home,” I answer simply.

“You meanyourhome.”

I tilt my head, “Where else would you live? You’re to be my bride.”

Her face goes red, a flush creeping up her neck. “I am not your bride.”

“Not yet.”

Her hands ball into fists in her lap. I know she’s upset now, but this isn’t a fight she can win.

“You can’t just, you can’t kidnap people,” she hisses.

I arch an eyebrow, “You came willingly.”

“That’s because you were threating my friends!”

“You still made a choice to come with me,bella, so I didn’t kidnap you.”

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